Sliced food package



March 26, 1963 J. M. TlNDALL sucsn FOOD PACKAGE Filed Aug. 25, 1960 Maicar yaizr'zfd zeys United States Patent 3,083,107 SLICED F091) PACKAGEJohn M. Tindall, 522 Greenleaf Ave., Wilmette, 111. Filed Aug. 25, 1960,Ser. No. 51,850 1 Claim. (Cl. 99-171) This invention relates to a foodpackage, and more specifically, to a package which is provided with aslidable tray and which is particularly suited for the marketing andstoring of sliced food products such as sliced cheese, meat, etc.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a package ofsimple and inexpensive construction from which sliced food products maybe readily removed without destroying or mutilating the outer wrapper.Another object is to provide a package of relatively stiff and sturdyconstruction, the package being particularly suited for the marketing ofsliced cheese and other foods in self-service counters where it may behandled and stacked without assuming a shop worn appearance. A furtherobject is to provide a package equipped with means for preventingrelative movement of the tray and the food slices carried thereby as thetray is pulled out of the wrapper, such means also being effective inmaintaining the slices in slanted and shingled relation and inrigidifying the entire package against transverse flexure.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a package embodying the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged broken vertical longitudinal section taken alongline 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a broken top plan view of the blank from which the tray ofthe present package is formed;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged broken perspective view illustrating structuraldetails of the shoulder of the tray.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral generally designates a foodpackage comprising a tray 11, an arrangement of food slices 12 supportedby the tray, and a wrapper 13 extending about the tray and its contents.

Preferably, the tray 11 is formed from a single sheet of foldable boardmaterial such as cardboard or paperboard although a suitable plastic orfoil might also be used. The tray provides a flat surface for supportingthe contents of the package and has a pair of upstanding side walls 14extending in parallel relation along opposite sides of the tray. At oneend of the elongated package is a transversely extending shoulder 15defining an inclined supporting surface 16 while at the opposite end isa folded pull tab 17.

Referring specifically to FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be observed thatshoulder 15 is formed integrally with the tray from the same blank orsheet 18 from which the tray is folded and formed. The extension 19 ofthe blank 18 is folded along transverse fold lines 20-23, shown asbroken lines in FIGURE 3, to form the transverse shoulder of triangularsection represented in FI" URE 4. It will be observed that the foldlines divide the extension 19 into a series of sections 24, 25, 26 and27. In forming the transverse shoulder, the extension is folded inwardlyupon itself so that back section 27 overlies section 24 and sectionrests directly upon the fiat bottom section 28 of the tray. The inclinedouter surface 16 of section 27 forms an obtuse angle with the fiat uppersurface of tray section 28. Preferably, to form this obtuse angle,section 27 is longer, when measured longitudinally of the blank, thansections 24 or 27.

Any suitable means may be provided to hold the shoulder in foldedcondition. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, this is accomplished 3,083,107 Patented Mar. 26, 1963 by meansof a fiap 29 defined by die-cut line 30 and fold line 31 on the blank ofFIGURE 3. The flap faces forwardly towards the shoulder and fold line 31is spaced from line 23 a distance equal to or slightly greater than thelength of section 25. Thus, when the extension 19 is folded to form thetransverse shoulder, the leading edge of that shoulder along fold line21 may be tucked between the flap and the base section 28. The shoulderhas a tendency to expand because of the resiliency of the material fromwhich it is folded and, by preventing such expansion, the flap 29effectively locks the shoulder in the condition illustrated in FIGURES 2and 4.

In FIGURE 1, I have illustrated two side-by-side series of food slicesarranged in shingle overlapping fashion upon the tray but it is to beunderstood that only a single series may be provided and, if desired,more than two series might be supported within a single package. Thelowermost slice 32 of each series rests upon the inclined surface 16 ofthe shoulder and, therefore, all of the slices of each series aremaintained in slanted condition. The bottom edges of the slices restsupon the flat supporting surface of the tray while the upper edges ofthose slices are no higher than the top edge of shoulder 15. In thisregard, it is to be observed that the top edge of the shoulder may berounded somewhat by providing double fold lines 22, the rounded surfacebeing less likely to meet resistance by the outer wrapper 13 as the trayis slid longitudinally.

Tab 17 is folded upwardly and rearwardly against the lower surfaceportion of the foremost slice to assist in preventing independentsliding movement of the slices within the package when the package issealed or closed. If desired, a suitable imprint 33 may be applied tothe tab to indicate that it should be unfolded and pulled to withdrawthe tray from the opened wrapper.

Wrapper 13 is formed from a transparent plastic film which issubstantially odorless and which is relatively impermeable to moisturevapor and oxygen. Pliofilm, a chlorinated rubber sheet material of theGoodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been found highly effective as awrapping material. Other materials having similar properties, such asvinylidene chloride polymers or polyethylene, particularly polyethylenehaving vinylidene chloride coating or compounded with waxes, might alsobe used. Since such materials and the wrappers in which they are usedare entirely conventional, further description of the composition andproperties of such materials is believed unnecessary herein.

Wrapper 13 is of elongated tubular form and completely encloses the trayand its contents. The ends of the tube are heat sealed along heatsealing zones 34, thereby hermetically sealing the sliced food withinthe wrapper. Air may be completely or partially evacuated prior to suchsealing and, if desired, the sliced food may be packaged in anatmosphere of nitrogen or some other suitable gas which will notadversely effect the flavor of the food but which will prevent itsoxidation during display and storage.

To open the package, a consumer simply cuts the wrapper along the sealedend adjacent the pull tab 17 of the tray and then, by unfolding andpulling tab 17, slides the tray out of the wrapper .a sufiicientdistance to fully expose one or more of the food slices. Thereafter, thetray may be slid back into the wrapper and the opened end of the wrappermay be folded and temporarily sealed by any suitable means. The clipdisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 25,363, filed April 28,1960, may be advantageously used for this purpose.

The upstanding side flanges or walls 14 not only prevent laterald1splacement of the slices upon the tray but also greatly facilitate theinward and outward sliding movement of the tray Within the wrapper. Itwill be observed that the upper edges of the side walls project slightlyabove the upper edges of the slices and, therefore, the upper portion ofthe wrapper primarily contacts the narrow upper edges of Walls 14. Onlyslight frictional resistance occurs between the side Walls and thewrapper as the tray is moved in and out, whereas substantial resistancewould occur between the slices and the Wrapper in the absence of suchside walls.

The hollow shoulder performs a number of important functions. First ofall, it prevents rearward sliding movement of the slices as the tray ispulled outwardly. In other words, the shoulder acts to retain the slicesupon the tray as that tray is moved with reference to the surroundingWrapper. The shoulder also maintains the slices of each series ininclined condition, as already described. Furthermore, it greatlystrengthens the entire package and rigidifies it against transverseflexure. Since the longitudinally extending side walls or flangesprevent longitudinal flexure of the package, it is believed apparentthat the package of the present invention is relatively stiff and mayundergo considerable handling, movement and stacking without becomingcrushed, frayed or shop Worn.

While in the foregoing I have disclosed an embodiment of the inventionin considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may bevaried Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A sliced food package comprising a tray formed from sheet material andhaving a pair of upstanding opposite side Walls and a rigid inclinedsupport shoulder at one end thereof, said tray supporting a plurality ofshinglestacked food slices arranged in at least one series extendingbetween said side walls and parallel therewith, the lowermost slice ofsaid stack resting against the inclined surface of said shoulder, theslices of said series having their upper edges no higher than the upperedges of said side walls, and a flexible wrapper enclosing said tray andthe slices carried thereby, said tray being slidable out of and intosaid Wrapper when said wrapper is opened at said opposite end of saidtray, said tray being provided at said opposite end with tab means forthe gripping and removal of the tray from said Wrapper after saidWrapper has been opened, said side Walls engaging said wrapper to reduceresistance between said wrapper and said slices as said tray is slid outor" and into said wrapper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,197,506 Moss Apr. 16, 1940 2,256,723 Nutt Sept. 23, 1941 2,954,151Buttery et a1. Sept. 27, 1960 2,967,777 Grindrod Ian. 10, 1961

